The Trouble with Girls
by laurah2215
Summary: The Concannon's series-story 41.


Title: The Trouble With Girls

Series: The Concannon's: Present, Past and Future

Author: Laura H

Synopsis: Danny and Pat connect over a common problem.

Rating:PG; Teen

Disclaimer: Are we still going through this? The show's been off the air for years. If I were making any money off of this, there would have been a suit by now. I also don't own the song sung by Scotty McCreery.

Author's Notes: It's been a while. What can I say?

Timeline:

October 2006-"I'm Yours"

Nov 2006- CJ and Danny finally see what they've been missing for eight years. Story 19- Make the World Go Away.

Jan 2007- Story 35- Let Love 24- "The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away".CJ and Danny move to California together. CJ becomes President of the Hollis Foundation. Danny begins writing Josiah Bartlet's biography.

February 2007- I Will Remember You

July 2007-CJ and Danny get married at the Bartlet farm and conceive Abigail during their honeymoon in Ireland.

August 2007:Story 13-"Starting a Club" Sept 2007- Danny starts school to finish his doctorate Nov 2007-Story 20 "Invalid"

Dec 2007- "Bed Rest" January 2008- "Parental Discretion is Advised""

February 2008- Abigail is born

March 2008-Story 30-"It Won't Be Like This for Long"

March 2009-Patrick is born.

August 2009:Story 25-"Separation Anxiety"

August 2010:Story 23-"Reunions"

January 2011: Story 5-He's Just Sensitive" Sept 2013:Story 2-"Just Another Day in Paradise"

Nov 2013- February 2014: Story 3- "My Little Girl"

June 2014:"Take Your Kids to Your Old Work Day" May 2015: Story 14- "First Pet"

July 2015: Story 33-"The Sleepover"

May 2018: Story 34-"Asking for Forgivness"

June 2020:Story 16-"The Go-Between" June 2021: Story 4- "Chivalry Isn't Dead"

June 2021: Story 17: "The Third and Fourth Wheels"

February 2023: Story 37: " Chasing the Dream"

April 2023: Story 29: "When the World Stopped Turning"

Jan 2025:Story 6-"The Hardest Conversation Ever"

March 2025: Story 7- "Letting Go

November 2025: The Next Phase

July 26 2026: "The Trouble with Girls

June 2029-Story 11 "Endings and Beginnings"

March 2030: Story 32-"My Achy, Breaky Heart"

May 2032: Story 1-Abigail's wedding- "I Loved Her First"

July 2032: Story 8- "Getting Good at New Things"

September 2032: Story 9-"Where We Need to Be"

January 2033: Story 10-"Always Loved By Me You're Gonna Be

July 2033: Story 12- "Proud of the House We Built"

September 2033: Story 15-"Miscommunication"

March 2044:-"You Can Let Go"

May 2044:-"Three More Sleeps"

May 2045-"I Will Take Care of You."

Tilting her head back, Alexia slowly breaks off the kiss and straightens up. "Okay, you better go."

Pat raises his brows in disappointment. "But, I just got here."

"My dad will be home soon," Alexia offers ruefully.

Pat cannot help but sigh. Alexia had texted him to ask him to come over when her brother, Mitch, had left the house. This sort of encounter happens on occasion, and every time it is fleeting and leaves him anxious and disappointed.

At Pat's apparent look of disenchantment, Alexia squeezes his hand. "I'm sorry. But if my dad finds you here we won't be allowed to see each other again. We're taking a huge risk."

Nodding solemnly, Pat stands up off of the couch. He is well aware of the rules imposed by Alexia's father and agreed to by his parents. After Alexia turned sixteen, they were permitted to spend time together under supervision, group social activities or at school. They were not to be left together unchaperoned at home. It had taken significant persuasion (begging on Alexia's part) for Ted, Alexia's father, to agree to these parameters, and while the kids were happy to be able to date, the problem was that, as teenagers, they often found the rules restricting and tempting to circumvent.

"I know. I am glad you texted me," Pat mumbles, walking into the foyer.

Alexia smoothes her perfect deep brunette curls behind her ears then reaches up to lay a feathery kiss to Pat's lips. "It won't be like this forever."

Bobbing his head, Pat slides his hand down Alexia's arm. He knows her words are supposed to be comforting, but he can't help but feel deflated. He knows their situation will not change. He has to graduate high school, get a job as soon as possible and put a wedding ring on her finger. It's the only way.

The trouble with girls is they're a mystery

Something about 'em puzzles me

Spent my whole life trying to figure out

Just what them girls are all about

The trouble with girls is they're so damn pretty

Everything about them does somethin' to me

But I guess that's the way it's supposed to be

They smile that smile

They bat those eyes

They steal you with hello

They kill you with goodbye

They hook you with one touch

And you can't break free

Yeah the trouble with girls

Is nobody loves trouble much as me

Danny stands up from where he had been weeding the garden in the front yard. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he decides to quit. He decides to go check on Abbey and Noah who are swimming in the back yard after a day of work. Abbey and Noah, after completing their first years at Georgetown and Harvard, respectively, are home for the summer and working (Abbey for a local children's non-profit and Noah at the district's congressional office) before their fall terms begin. Just as Danny is about to head toward the back yard, his seventeen year-old son walks gloomily across the grassy expanse separating his property from that of his neighbor.

Danny straightens up. "What were you doing next door?"

With a grimace, Pat manages a shrug. "Seeing Alexia."

"Oh, was Mitch there?" Danny gathers his tools and stores them in the garage.

"No. He went out," Pat answers honestly, looking nonchalant.

Danny turns around and fixes Pat with a serious stare. "Patrick, what were you doing over there if there was no supervision?"

Pat shakes his head in frustration. " Forget that. I don't care. I've got problems."

Danny relaxes and his face falls in concern. "Come on," He motions Pat inside through the garage and through to the den so they can talk comfortably.

Danny sits on the couch and the lanky teenager, who could be a clean-shaven replica of his father except with his mother's long legs, flops onto the arm chair.

"What's wrong?" Danny prompts, when Pat remains silent.

Taking a deep sigh, Pat shakes his head." Girls. I…I don't know how to handle this. I'm like…completely in love with Alexia and we can't even be alone together. We have to steal little moments together just to kiss and… it sucks. And I feel like it's not going to change for years."

Nodding his head to indicate comprehension, Danny leans forward. "Why do you think it's going to be like that for years?"

Pat merely shrugs his shoulders. "Because. Ted's not gonna let us be alone together until we're married. Alexia doesn't want to have sex until she's married. I'm just going into my senior year. I'm gonna have to find some kind of job so I can afford a wedding and a place to live and everything."

Danny can't contain a smile. "Whoa, slow down, pal. You're only seventeen. You don't have to plan everything right now. We can think about what you might want for a career and college, and when you've got yourself established then you can worry about saving for those things. Besides, Alexia's a smart and driven girl. I'm sure she's going to have a great career and she'll be able to help support your life together, as well."

"Alexia's going to bible college and then she'll be a minister at Ted's church. He wants her to replace him when he retires," Pat offers ruefully.

Danny raises an eyebrow. "Wow. Lots of pressure to put on a sixteen year-old girl."

"So, you see why it's gonna be like this forever," Pat frowns.

Danny nods sympathetically, but a smile escapes his lips. "You know, that's the trouble with girls. But I'll tell you something, they're worth the wait." Danny recalls when he was a fourteen year-old and had an enormous crush on a girl in his parish. He tells his frustrated son how he patiently, sweetly courted that girl for four months before he received his first kiss. Then there was his time back in his youth, when he was studying at Notre Dame. There was one particular young woman with long, blonde hair he used to socialize with. She was the reason he knew he was not fit to be priest.

They're sugar and spice and angel wings

Hell on wheels in tight blue jeans

A Summer night down by the lake

An old memory that you can't shake

They're hard to find yet there's so many of em

The way that you hate that you already love em

I guess that's the way it's supposed to be

They smile that smile

They bat those eyes

They steal you with hello

They kill you with goodbye

They hook you with one touch

And you can't break free

Yeah the trouble with girls

Is nobody loves trouble much as me

And then there was CJ. The longest courtship he had ever embarked upon. Nine years. Nine long years. She had maintained that their relationship would not work because of the conflict of interest between their careers, and she refused to even entertain the idea of pursuing a relationship with him. Until that fateful election night in 2006 when she had finally fallen off the cliff, holding his hand on the way down. It was the best night of his life, and infinitely worth the wait.

The way they hold you out on the dance floor

The way they ride in the middle of your truck

The way they give you a kiss at the front door

Leave you wishing you coulda gone up

And just as you walk away

You hear that sweet voice say

Stay

They smile that smile

They bat those eyes

They steal you with hello

They kill you with goodbye

They hook you with one touch

And you can't break free

Yeah the trouble with girls

Is nobody loves trouble much as me

"So, it's really worth the wait? Like when you were a kid and with Mom?" Pat asks tentatively.

Danny grins. "Worth every minute. I wouldn't change a thing. Your mother is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm so glad I waited and fought and that she gave our relationship a chance."

A tiny smile spreads across Pat's lips. "All right."

Danny stands up and lays a hand on his son's shoulder. "You and Alexia are gonna be fine. Just be patient, play by the rules, and show her how much you love her. You have plenty of time to worry about marriage and work."

Pat stands up and grasps his father's forearm. " Thanks, Dad. And maybe later we can look into some local colleges I might be able to get into?"

Smiling, Danny throws his arm around Pat's shoulder. "Of course. But don't worry. You're very talented. You're going to be accepted into a great college."

Pat leads them out of the den and into the kitchen. "You think I should go into a writing program?"

"I think you've got a gift and you should nurture it," Danny agrees, opening the refrigerator.

"But what kind of job will I get as a writer?" Pat inquires conversationally.

Danny hands his son a soda and sits on a stool at the counter to discuss the young man's future career prospects. He feels elated, bonding with his son over the common interests of women and writing. It reminds him of the times Abbey would seeks his advice for relationships or school. He can't believe how much his son has grown up, but he is so proud of the man he is becoming.


End file.
